Utility pocket knife



1 6.4 m: FRATIES 1 07 UTILITY POCKET KNIFE Filed Dec. 5 0, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet'l' IN VEN TOR.

ITmR/VEY Feb :16, 1943. c, A, D5 lFRATlEsf 4,311,107

UTILITY POCKET KNIFE Filed Dec. 30, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

A rra /vg v 0/jforo' Patented Feb. 16, 1943 UTILI Y B QEI Clifford A. De Fraties, Moline, 111. Application December so, 194;, Serial 470,545

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as a ended Ap l H 8; .3700- G, 757) 2 Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by 'or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a utility pocket knife and more particularly .to a, knife assembly including a folding knife and fork, a punch and can opener, and a pair of separate handles for the knife and fork; the parts being so designed that all parts may be telescoped together into a, small, neat and compact assembly having the appearance of an ordinary pocket knife.

Before going into the description of the details of the structure forming the present preferred embodiment of this invention, it is believed pertinent to point out that this applicant recognizes the fact that numerous combination tools have been made and used in the prior art, and that many of these tools have been equipped with pivoted knife blades, pivoted fork structures, or both. So far as is known to the applicant, however, the prior art devices have been uniformly unsatisfactory in that although either knife or fork could be used at any time, they have been mounted upon a, common handle and it has thus been impossible for the knife and fork to be used simultaneously. 'In connection with the above, attention is called to the'fact that tools of this general character are particularly designed for the use of military troops or others who f nd it impossible to carry conventional silverware by reason of its unnecessary bulk and weight, and who must usethe combination tool for all meals. For this purpose, it is essential for the tool to be so designed that the knife and fork may be used at the same time} It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a utility knife including two separate handle structures adapted to be telescoped one within the other, one of said handles having a knife blade pivotally mounted thereon and the other handle having a fork similarly mounted, the arrangement being such that the handles may be completely separated to permit simultaneous use of knife and fork, or so that the handles may be telescoped one within the other and locked in telescopic relationship so as to occupy a minimum amount of space when not in use.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of separate telescoping handle structures, one of said handles carrying a pivotedly mounted can opener and both handles arranged to be locked in telescopic arrangement by a portion of the can opener structure, so that the handles may be separated from each other by the 'simpl'e expedient of"'pivoting the can opener blade uponitsmounting.

'A further object" of the invention resides in the provision of a utility pocket knife assembly having the characteristics noted above and being rugged in construction, economical in manufac' ture, and of neat and compact mechanical design. Referring now more particularly to the drawings attachedto and fotr'ning' a part'of thepresent specification: I Fig. a side elevational view of one side of the utility pocket knifein fully assembled position, Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the opposite'side thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top view Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is'a. back view thereof, Fig. 5 is" a side elevational view of the outer handle casing showing the knifblade in open pos n 6 is a side elevational View of the inside handle casing, showing the fork in open posit an Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line'l'1 of {Ihe present preferred embodiment of' the inventiqn, illustrated in the drawings, includes in general a main handle housing I!) and an inside telescoping handle portion l l'." H The'handle l0 includes a pair of opposite side plates {2 and |3 ,spaced' apart by a'plur alitybf spacers M and a pair of back springs lif The handle assembly is united by a number of rivets l-6 extending through the side plates [2, and I3 and securing these plates to the spacers and to the back 'prin'gs The-handle is also provided with a transve ise rivet I-l "ex-tending through a guard lB'at the end of the handle opposite" the rivets 'I6,"and"the rivet I 1" acts as a pivotto support a knife blade 20 and a can opener IS.

The knife blade and can opener are provided with squared mounting portions surrounding the of the knife illustrated in pivot ll, so' that the tension of the back springswill maintain these parts in open or closed position as desired, but inasmuch as this construction is entirely conventional and well known in,

the prior art it has not been illustrated in the drawings.

It should be noted, however, that the can opener l9, which includes a conventional type of cutting blad 2| and a side bead engaging hook 22 is arranged so that the bead engaging hook will be received in a. notch 23 in the edge of the side plate l2 of the handle. As illustrated, the handle I is also provided with a pivoted wire bail 24 so that the entire knife may be supported from a belt hook in a manner well understood in the prior art.

The inside handle portion H is similarly constructed, havinga pair of side plates 3| and 32 together with spacers 33 and a pair of back springs 34, all secured together by a plurality of back rivets 35. It is to be noted, however, that the outside shape and dimensions of the handle I l are such that it will fit snugly in telescoping relationship on the inside of the handle ID, as illustrated in Fig. '7, and that the side plates [2 and I3 are curved to closely encircle the inside handle H. The handle ll is also provided with an enlarged end guard 36 having an end rivet 31 to support a fork 38 and a leatherpunch 39. The fork and punch are provided with a squared mounting portion surrounding the rivet 31 so that these parts will be held in open or closed position by the back springs 34, in the same manner as the knife blade and can opener heretofore described.

The side plate 3| of the handle H includes a locking notch 39 in its upper edge. The locking notch 40 is spaced apart from the inner edge of the guard 36 a distance equivalent to the distance between the locking notch 23 and the end of the handle l0, so that when the handle II is telescoped into the handle [0 to its full depth, the notches 23 and 40 will lie in registry. By this arrangement the two handles may be securely locked together and prevented from accidental removal by the bead engaging hook on the can opener. That is, the bead engaging hook 22 will extend through the notch 40 on the inside handle II as well as through the notch 23 on the outside handle I0. Thus the two handles may be securely locked together in telescoping relationship when the pocket knife is not in use.

When either the knife, fork or punch is to be used, it can be opened without disturbing the telescoping relationship of the handles and without releasing the handles from locked relationship. When it is desirable to use both knife and fork, the telescoping handles ill and II may be separated. This is done by simply opening the can opener blade sufiiciently to withdraw the hook 22 from the notches 23 and 48, and then sliding the inside handle I I out of telescoping relationship with the outer handle H. Both the knife and fork are then provided with a satisfactory handle portion so that they may be used simultaneously.

' To reassemble the knife,-it is only necessary to open the can opener, slide the handle portion ll into the handle l0 and close the can opener so that the bead engaging hook 22 snaps into the notches 23 and 40 and locks the two handles together. The entire assembly may then be carried either in the pocket or on a. belt hook by means of the pivoted bail 24.

From the foregoing it should be apparent that the teachings of the present invention provide a novel and highly useful type of combination tool, not heretofore known in the art, and having valuable military features. In this connection, however, it may be pointed out that while the present invention is believed to be particularly suited to the use of military forces, its utility is believed to extend to commercial fields as well. It is therefore requested that the scope of the invention be regarded as limited only by the language of the appended claims,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a utility pocket knife including a hollow outside handle portion and a telescoping hollow inside handle portion fitted therein; the outside portion comprising a pair of side plates and back portion; a pivot adjacent one end of said handle and a pair of implements mounted on said pivot, one of said implements being a can opener having a side hook; said inside handle portion including a pair of side plates and back portions; a. pivot adjacent one end of said handle and a pair of implements mounted on said pivot; each of said handle portions including a notch on the edge of the side plate, said notches being positioned to lie in registry When the inner handle portion is telescoped fully into the outer handle portion whereby the side hook of the can opener may be positioned in both of said notches simultaneously to lock the telescoping handle portions together.

2. As an article of manufacture, a utility pocket knife including a hollow outside handle portion and a telescoping hollow inside handle portion fitted therein; the outside portion comprising a pair of side plates spaced apart at one of their edges by a plurality of spacers and back springs and including a pivot adjacent one end thereof and a pair of implements mounted on said pivot, one of said implements having a side projection; said inside handle portion including a pair of side plates spaced apart at one of their edges by a plurality of spacers and back-springs, a pivot adjacent one end thereof and a pair of implements mounted on said pivot; each of said handle portions including a notch on the edge of the side plate opposite said back springs, said notches being positioned to lie in registry when the inner handle portion is telescoped fully into the outer handle whereby the side projection of the aforementioned implement may be positioned in both of said notches simultaneously to lock the telescoping handle portions together.

CLIFFORD A. DE FRATIES. 

